The present invention relates to the field of data storage devices. Computers often store large quantities of data, including data such as music, video, games, applications, and other valuable information, on hard disk drives and other data storage devices, which are referred to herein generally as “disks”. As users' storage needs increase and the price of disks fall, computers often employ multiple disks to meet their storage needs.
To improve performance, reliability, and efficiency in using multiple disks for data storage, two or more disks can be combined into a single “logical” disk. One common disk architecture for combining multiple disks is RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). Although RAID systems can provide improved disk performance and/or reliability, RAID systems are complicated to set up and configure. Additionally, RAID systems typically require specialized disk controllers and driver software. Thus, RAID systems are typically too expensive and too difficult for use by most computer users.
Additionally, because some current RAID systems require specialized disk controllers, they are limited in the number and type of disks that can be combined. For example, it is virtually impossible for current RAID systems to combine an EIDE disk and a SCSI disk in the same RAID system. In other RAID systems, the computer operating systems combines disk partitions, rather than the underlying disk itself, to create the RAID system. Because disk partitions are defined by the operating system, the disk partitions, and hence the entire RAID system, are inaccessible until the operating system has loaded. Thus in these implementations, the computer cannot be booted from the RAID system.
It is therefore desirable for a system and method to enable users to easily combine two or more disks into a bootable RAID system without specialized disk controllers. It is further desirable to be able to create RAID systems using disks of different types, controllers, and interfaces.